Air pattern control arrangement



June 27, 1967 J. F. NEWELL ET'AL 3,327,607

AIR PATTERN CONTROL ARRANGEMENT Filed Jan. 14. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l oooooooo o 000000 f o oooooo 30b NVE To 5 I 94 Jon-m F. NEWNELLR H -1 JosePHW.SPRAbuHc1 I; Mm BY /M A11 0 Rut-LY June 27, 1967 J. F. NEWELL ETAL 3,327,607

AIR PATTERN CONTROL ARRANGEMENT Filed Jan. 14. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet mvarrroas 34 a 3 b dovm F NEWELL I Josepu W.SPRP\DL\NG BYW W" Arrovmev June 27, 1967 J. F. NEWELL ETAL 3,327,607

AIR PATTERN CONTROL ARRANGEMENT Filed Jan. 14, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 \NVENTORS JOHN F. Neweu. JcSEPH W. S aam-me BYMJM' Avromqav United States Patent Ofi ice Patented June 27, 196? 3,327,597 AIR PATTERN CONTROL ARRANGEMENT John F. Newell, Verona, and Joseph W. Spradling, Madison, Wis, assignors to Wehr Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Jan. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 520,558 12 Claims. (ill. 98-40) This invention relates to direction control arrangements for air or fluid media in general and, more particularly, to such control arrangements as are adapted for use in controlling the pattern of discharge from a perforated plate air diffuser.

Perforated plate diffusers have been well received in the building construction industry for use at the terminal points of an air distribution system. Generally, the major visible portion of such diffusers is the outer perforated plate which includes a large number of closely spaced openings through which air is discharged. Interiorly, the diffuser in most instances is provided with a directional control arrangement which cooperates with the perforated plate to achieve any one of a number of conventionally air discharge patterns. The perforated plate provides effective discharge of air into a room, substantially conceals the interior structure of the diffuser to enhance the overall appearance of the installation, and also blends well with commonly-used ceiling or wall construction materials (e.g. acoustical ceiling tile).

An object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangement for controlling the direction and pattern of discharge from a diffuser of this type.

Another object of this invention is to provide a discharge pattern control arrangement for a diffuser which provides effective pattern control while requiring a minimum static pressure and maintaining a relatively constant resistance for a given flow rate throuhgout the range of various pattern adjustments.

A further object of this invention is to provide an effective discharge pattern control arrangement which does not alter the outer appearance of the diffuser.

At this point it should be noted that the discharge pattern control arrangement of this invention will presently find its greatest application in perforated plate air diffusers and for that reason will be described in that environment but the control arrangement has application to air delivery systems in general and should not be limited to any specific use. Accordingly, a general object of this invention is to provide improved directional and discharge pattern control for a fluid media.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typical installation of a diffuser incorporating this invention and looking into the diffuser from a point outside of the diffuser, part of the perforated plate being broken away to expose the diffuser interior;

FIG. 2 is a section vieW taken generally along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial section view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view looking into the diffuser from within the inlet duct;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a deflector and its mounting arrangement;

FIG. 6 is a section view of the deflector and its mounting arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a plan View of a single deflector;

FIG. 8 illustrates a one-way pattern setting of the defiectors;

FIG. 9 illustrates a three-way pattern setting;

FIG. 10 illustrates a four-way pattern setting;

FIG. 11 illustrates a two-Way corner pattern setting; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a two-way opposed pattern setting and in dotted lines illustrates a further possible setting of the deflectors.

With particular reference to the drawings, diffuser 10 is supported in a conventional manner at an opening 12 in a ceiling, or wall, 14. Diffuser 10 provides a terminal point through which air is discharged into a room from a conventional air distribution system, only a portion of the air distribution system being illustrated in FIG. 2 by duct 16. Diffuser inlet duct 18 communicates with duct 16 through opening 20, duct 18 being suitably fastened to depending flange 22 extending around opening 20. Diffuser 10 has a housing 24 extending from the free end of duct 18 to ceiling opening 12 and defining an air flow pass-age 25 through which air is directed through the diffuser. More particularly, housing 24 includes an inner collar 26 telescoping a portion of the free end of duct 18 to cooperate with that duct in defining an inlet opening 19 to the diffuser and the air flow passage 25. Diffuser 19 is generally square through a typical transverse cross section as illustrated in FIG. 1 and structurally housing 24, in addition to collar 26, includes side walls 28, '30, 32 and 34 which slope outwardly from inlet 19 to formed ends 28a, 30a, 32a and 34a. The Wall ends define the periphery of a diffuser outlet 36, constitute the visible outer portion of housing 24, and also provide a means of attaching a perforated plate 38 at the diffuser outlet. More palticularly, perforated plate 38 extends over and covers the diffuser outlet so that all air directed through passage 25 is discharged through the plate. The perforated plate can be attached to the outer housing end in any suitable manner. For example, the perforated plate can be provided with an inwardly turned flange 49 extending around all or a part of the plate periphery and suitably connected in recesses formed in the outer side wall ends, only recesses 28b and 32b are illustrated in FIG. 2 but similar recesses can be provided at side wall ends 30a and 34a as well.

With the structure described to this point, it will be obvious that the air entering diffuser inlet 19 Will pass through passage 25 and be uniformly discharged through perforated plate 38 substantially over the complete extension of the perforated plate. In most applications it is recognized that this type of discharge does not afford optimum distribution of air into the room and generally some type of deflection mechanism is provided to produce the discharge pattern necessary to increase the effectiveness of air distribution. This invention also solves this problem of distribution and pattern control through the use of a deflection mechanism which is supported interiorly of the diffuser. The deflection control arrangement is supported at the inner, 0r inlet, end of the diffuser and diverts flow in a desired manner as it passes through the expanding passage 25 of the diffuser. More particularly, a plurality of deflectors 44, 46, 48 and 50 are supported at the diffuser inlet and extend into an expanding area portion 42 of passage 25 but terminate in spaced relationship from the perforated plate.

structurally, deflectors 44, 46, 48 and 50 are suspended from support angles 52 and 54 by deflector hangers 56, 58, 60 and 62, respectively. Support angles 52 and 54 can be connected in the diffuser in any suitable conventional manner, for example by self-tapping screws 65 which extend through ends 64, 66, 6S and 79 of the support angles and diffuser housing 24. Preferably, support angle ends 64-70 are formed to fit over the juncture between collar 26 and the sloping housing side walls so that screws 65 can be inserted from the outlet end of the diffuser and the entire deflection control mechanism can be readily asembled into or withdrawn from the diffuser with the manipulation of the fastening screws and without disturbing the diffuser installation other than removal of the perforated plate. Each of the deflectors is fixed to one end of its respective hanger and the other end of the hanger is connected to the support angle in a manner to permit the deflector to rotate about the point of connection with the support angle. Preferably, this rotatable connection is provided by rivets 72 extending through bases 74 and 76 of thesupport angles.

More specifically and with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, hanger 58 has an end 78 turned to fit against the underside of web 74 when attached to the support angle by rivet 72. Mid-portion 80 extends from end 7 8 and hanger end 82 is disposed at an oblique angle to mid-portion 80. With reference to FIG. 7, deflector 46 is generally planar and includes a polygonal portion 34 and a rounded portion 92. For reasons which will become apparent from the following discussion, rounded portion 92 has an approximately elliptical edge 94 and polygonal portion 84 includes straight edges 86, 88 and 90 arranged so that the included angle of adjacent edges is 90. Deflector 46 is mounted at an oblique angle to the direction if air flow through the inlet and to a plane extending transversely of the inlet opening and generally normal to the direction of flow through the inlet opening, for convenience this plane will hereinafter be referred to as an inlet plane. In the illus trated embodiment the oblique angle of the deflector is determined by the angle of end 82 of hanger 62 which is attached to one of the oppositely facing surfaces of deflector St), for example by spot welding, and end 82 is arranged at an oblique angle to the inlet air flow and the inlet plane. With this arangement deflector 50 interrupts air flow through passage 25 and can be rotated about the axis defined by rivet 72 to vary the direction in which air is deflected to the diffuser outlet. The axis defined by rivet 72 is generally normal to the inlet plane or, in a general sense, is generally parallel to the direction of air flow through the inlet opening into the diffuser. Rotation about rivet 72 varies the direction of deflection of air but does not vary the angleof the deflector to the air flow nor the area of the deflector presented to the air flow in any of the selected deflector positions. Preferably the oblique angle at which deflector 46 is supported is such that elliptical edge 94 presents a surface to the air flow which, as projected onto the inlet plane, is generally circular about the rotational axis defined by rivet 72 and deflector 50 is symmetrical about a centerline AA which in assembly intersects an extension of the rotational axis defined by rivet 72. It will also be appreciated that each of the deflectors 44, 46, 48 and 50 are identically shaped and identically supported at the diffuser.

The deflectors are superimposed on outlet opening and the inlet opening and their projections onto the inlet plane remain the same regardless of the direction in which the deflector slopes away from the inlet. In other words, the

deflectors obstruct a given area of passage 25 and this obstruction remains relatively constant throughout the entire range of adjustment of each of the deflectors. This pattern control arrangement achieves control without varying the obstruction to air flow and with minimal restruction of flow through passage 25. With this arrangement the static pressure developed at the inlet side of the diffuser due to the deflectors is relatively low and remains substantially constant regardless of the adjusted position of the deflector, or deflectors, with respect to each other and the diffuser inlet and outlet. As discussed above, this desirable feature results from the fact that adjustment of the deflectors does not vary the amount of obstruction offered to the air flow in passage 25 but merely alters the direction of air flow diversion. Thus a variety of different air flow patterns are available from the diffuser incorporating the discharge pattern control of this invention while maintaining the characteristic of relatively low static pressure and uniform static pressure over the entire range of pattern adjustment.

Particular reference will now be made to FIGS. 8l2 wherein a number of available air flow patterns are illustrated. The arrows in these figures indicate the direction in which the deflectors slop toward the diffuser outlet and, accordingly, the direction of air flow deflection. The following air flow patterns are available and are achieved as described:

(1) In FIG. 8 all of the deflectors are angled in the same direction and produce a one-way flow pattern with all air directed to the same side of the diffuser.

(2) In FIG. 9 deflectors 44 and 46 are angled in the same direction toward a common diffuser side whereas deflectors 48 and 50 are relatively angled in opposite directions and toward opposite diffuser sides, this arrangement provides a three-way flow pattern,

(3) In FIG. 10 all of the deflectors are angled in a different direction with the direction of adjacent deflectors being offset from each other and each deflector directed toward a different side of the diffuser to provide a four-way pattern.

(4) In FIG. 11 deflectors 44 and 46 slope in the same direction toward a common diffuser side as do deflectors 48 and 50, this arrangement providing two-way pattern control particularly adapted for corner placement of the diffuser.

(5) In FIG. 12 deflectors 44 and 46 slope in the same direction toward a common diffuser side and deflectors 48 and 5% also slope in the same direction toward a common diffuser side but are oppositely directed with respect to deflectors 44 and 46, thereby providing a standard twoway opposed pattern.

(6) The deflector settings of FIGS. 1-4 illustrate yet another available setting to achieve a three-way discharge pattern, it being appreciated that the direction of deflection is determined by the direction in which the polygonal portions of the respective deflectors are directed.

As will be noted in FIGS. 8l2, the superimposed area of the deflectors 44-51} on the inlet plane, which would be a plane corresponding to the plane of the papenremains substantially the same throughout the various pattern adjustments, hence maintaining a relatively uniform 0bstruction to air flow through passage 25.

The polygonal sections of the deflectors project into the expanded area of diffuser passage 25, whereas, the rounded section projects into the relative narrow section defined by collar 26, the inner inlet end. This arrangement provides a broad deflector area at the point of departure of air flow from the deflectors for optimum deflection con-. trol while the rounded ends permit the deflectors to extend into the narrower inlet openings for optimum air flow interception while providing adequate clearance between deflectors for free adjustable movement. All of the deflectors are independently adjustable and remain in their selected adjusted position to insure consistent, reliable operation. Moreover, this particular deflector construction adds still greater versatility to the pattern control in that the deflectors, any one of all of the deflectors, can be positioned to direct air flow along a corner of the diffuser as illustrated by the dotted line showing of deflectors 44 and 48 in FIG. 12 and without interfering with the setting of any of the other deflectors.

It will also be noted that clearance is provided between the deflectors so that in various pattern settings a central opening is provided between the deflectors so that, although the deflectors are arranged between the inlet and outlet, they permit at least a minimum amount of direct flow-through of air to prevent a negative pressure appearing above the central portion of the perforated plate which could result in aspiration of room air into the diffuser. Such room air generally entrains dirt and dust particles which would smudge the outer face of the perforated plates so that the provision of the central opening maintains a clean outer appearance. The rounded portions of the deflectors particularly enhance this feature as is evident in FIGS. 9, 10, l1 and 12 but an opening will also occur when the polygonal portions are turned inwardly as is partially evident in FIG. 8.

The size of the deflectors and the angle at which they are supported are preferably selected so that throughout adjustment (except for the corner adjustment in FIG. 12) the deflectors extend to, but do not overlap, the margin of the inlet opening. In this respect the polygonal configuration of a portion of the deflector is desirable with a square, or rectangular, inlet opening since the edges of the polygonal portion are complementary to and substantially fill an area corresponding to the corners of the inlet opening in various deflector settings. Moreover, the angle of the deflector is also preferably selected to be the same as the angle at which the diffuser housing side walls slope (see FIGS. 2 and 3), this arrangement providing smooth air flow and effective deffection for pattern control. It will be appreciated that these relationships can be varied without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention but the specific illustrated relationship of deflectors, inlet opening and housing side walls achieves optimum deflection and control with a minimum of static pressure above the diffuser.

It will also be noted that this invention is not limited to use in a square diffuser but could, for example, be used in a rectangular diffuser with the necessary number of pairs of additional deflectors being added in the elongated direction of the diffuser. Although the illustrated deflector shape is preferred, other shapes could be used. For example, effective pattern control could be achieved even with a polygonal shape being substituted for the illustrated elliptical end; however, it is appreciated that interference between deflectors during adjustment could occur with such a deflector shape and center clearance would be reduced thereby diminishing, if not completely eliminating, center flow for preventing aspiration of room air. In some applications these shortcomings may be of relatively minor importance so that the completely polygonal-shaped deflector could be used.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A diffuser comprising, in combination,

means defining a flow passage having an inlet, an outlet, and an extension between said inlet and outlet,

a plurality of deflector means each defining a deflector surface,

support means mounting said deflector means in said flow passage upstream of said outlet with said deflector surfaces in the path of flow through said passage and disposed at an oblique angle to flow from said inlet to said outlet to control the pattern of discharge through said outlet, said support means further mounting said deflector means for rotation of each of said deflector surfaces about an axis extending generally parallel to the direction of flow through said inlet so that said deflector surfaces are rotatable about said axes to vary the orientation of said defleeting surfaces in said path of flow without varying the angle of said deflector surfaces to said flow path,

and cover means extending over said outlet and having openings therein for passage of flow therethrough.

2. The diffuser of claim 1 wherein said deflecting surfaces are also disposed at an oblique angle to a plane extending transversely of said inlet and generally normal to said path of flow through said inlet and wherein said axes are generally normal to said plane.

3. A diffuser comprising, in combination,

means defining a flow passage having an inlet, an outlet, and sloping side walls extending from said inlet to said outlet and defining an expanding passage area from said inlet to said outlet, said outlet being greater than and overlapping said inlet,

a plurality of deflect-or means each defining a deflector surface extending from a point adjacent said inlet into said expanding area and toward said outlet,

and support means mounting said deflector means with said deflector surfaces in the path of flow through said passage and disposed at an oblique angle to flow through said inlet, said support means further mounting said deflector means for rotation of each of said deflector surfaces about an axis extending generally parallel to the direction of flow through said inlet so that said deflector surfaces are rotatable about said axes to vary the orientation of said deflecting surfaces in said path of flow without varying the angle of said deflector surfaces to said flow path.

4. The difluser of claim 3 wherein said deflector means comprises generally planar members disposed at an oblique angle to a plane extending transversely of said inlet and generally normal to said path of flow through said inlet,

wherein said axes are generally normal to said plane,

and wherein said planar members project onto said plane generally symmetrically about said axis.

5. The diffuser of claim 3 wherein said deflector means comprise generally planar members and each of said planar members include a polygonal section and a generally rounded section, said generally rounded section extending into said inlet and said polygonal portion extending into said expanded area.

6. The diffuser of claim 5 wherein said generally rounded deflector sections are generally elliptical in the plane of said planar members and each projects onto said first-mentioned plane generally in the form of a segment of circle having the axis of rotation of said planar member as a center.

7. The diffuser of claim 5 wherein said generally rounded section and said polygonal section project generally symmetrically onto said first-mentioned plane about respective ones of said axes to thereby present a uniform obstruction to flow in said passage throughout the range of angular adjustment of said planar members about said axes.

8. The diffuser of claim 5 wherein said support means include elongated members extending across said inlet and hanger bracket means extending between said elongated members and each of said planar members,

each of said hanger bracket means including a first portion engaging said support means, a second portion connected to said planar member and a midportion extending between said first and second portions,

and means connecting said first hanger bracket means portions to said support means for rotation thereon and defining said axes.

9. The diffuser of claim 5 wherein said planar members are supported adjacent each other with clearance therebetween and are superimposed on said outlet with a clearance opening between their inner adjacent ends to define an opening permitting direct flow between said inlet and outlet without deflection.

10. The diffuser according to claim 4- wherein the portions of said planar members extending toward said outlet include edges characterized by a configuration generally complementary to the marginal edge of said inlet,

and wherein said support means supports said planar members to normally assume a position within the area defined by said marginal inlet edge and at an angle equal to the angle of said sloping side walls.

11. The diffuser according to claim 3 including a perforated plate extending over and covering said outlet,

and means connecting said perforated plate at said outlet.

12. A diffuser comprising, in combination,

means defining a flow passage having an inlet and an outlet,

a plurality of deflector blades,

means supporting said deflector blades in said flow passage generally upstream of said outlet in the path of flow from said inlet to said outlet and disposed at an oblique angle to flow through said passage, said support means further mounting each of said deflector blades for rotation about an axis extending generally parallel to the direction of flow through said inlet so that said deflector blades are rotatable about said axes to vary the orientation of said deflector blades in said path of flow without varying the angle of said deflector blades to said flow path,

each of said deflector blades characterized by an end portion disposed at said inlet and having a configuration which provides clearance between adjacent ones of said ends as said deflector blades are rotated so that said deflectors can be positioned closely adjacent each other without interference between said deflector blades during rotation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DIFFUSER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, MEANS DEFINING A FLOW PASSAGE HAVING AN INLET, AN OUTLET, AND AN EXTENSION BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET, A PLURALITY OF DEFLECTOR MEANS EACH DEFINING A DEFLECTOR SURFACE, SUPPORT MEANS MOUNTING SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS IN SAID FLOW PASSAGE UPSTREAM OF SAID OUTLET WITH SAID DEFLECTOR SURFACES IN THE PATH OF FLOW THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AND DISPOSED AT AN OBLIQUE ANGLE TO FLOW FROM SAID INLET TO SAID OUTLET TO CONTROL THE PATTERN OF DISCHARGE THROUGH SAID OUTLET, SAID SUPPORT MEANS FURTHER MOUNTING SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS FOR ROTATION OF EACH OF SAID DEFLECTOR SURFACES ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF FLOW THROUGH SAID INLET SO THAT SAID DEFLECTOR SURFACES ARE ROTATABLE ABOUT SAID AXES TO VRY THE ORIENTATION OF SAID DEFLECTING SURFACES IN SAID PATH OF FLOW WITHOUT VARYING THE ANGLE OF SAID DEFLECTOR SURFACES TO SAID FLOW PATH, AND COVER MEANS EXTENDING OVER SAID OUTLET AND HAVING OPENINGS THEREIN FOR PASSAGE OF FLOW THERETHROUGH. 